89 3pg low power in forward

[1228gto]

I have a EZGo 2pg gas 2 stoke that runs up hills fine in reverse but, really struggles uphill in forward. IT was worst until I unplugged the exhaust but it still climbs in reverse much better in reverse. Any ideas if mine might be a similar issue? I figured it was the clutches. Just bought it and it ran on flat ground just fine. Help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[redcloud]

I would do a driven clutch rebuild with a high torque spring kit and new buttons. Reverse I believe will run the clutch with belt at top all the time so you are in low gear in reverse but forward the clutch has to be able to spring pressure the belt to top for low gear and if the spring is weak or faulty ramp/buttons it will go down into faster mode and you loose low end torque before the engine can gain speed enough to handle the belt position.

[Ranger50]

Mine would barely go in forward but reverse was perfect. I put a timing light on it and found forward was way off. This told me it was in the ignition. If your good on flat ground but feels like low power up hill I would check compression to make sure it is capable of strong power. Then look into clutch and belt issues. Worn clutch old stretched and worn belt. When I rebuilt this I also did the drive clutch spring shim mod. Not sure how much of a difference it made as I never really drove it before the rebuild. Today I was able to stop on a good incline and then it took off strong all the way to the top. Almost felt like it was going to flip backwards.

[1228gto]

Very good points. I just put a new belt on. Didn't do much if anything. I think I'll try the driven clutch first because 1) it seems to have trouble downshifting and bogs...I can tell it isn't gearing down. 2) It runs better after being driven a while making me think the clutch could be sticking 3) it sets for months at a time and only gets driven occasionally. Seems like if it was the engine, it would be consistently running poorly. It climbs hills better in forward after being used a lot but, it's not good enough....not nearly as good as reverse.

I'll also thinking about putting a clone in it. If I do that, I'll probably have to change out the primary clutch then. Dynomax big block would be nice if I could get the clutch and engine at a decent price.

[1228gto]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. My 2pg is a smaller engine than your 3pg...unfortunately I don't have many ccs to work with. THat is why I'm considering a big block. I don't need speed really. I just need to be able to climb steep inclines/hills/slopes.

[ensign05]

I did a complete rebuild on mine with new crank, fresh bore .25mm over and a new piston along with a new pulsar coil, had low power and a popping through the exhaust .... after days of diagnosing found the new (ebay) pulsar to be wired opposite of the OE one , switched the red and blue wires and it fixed my issue, I also had previously done the HEI conversion on my cart just as a FYI and with the factory pulsar it worked fine.